Infosys Bets Half Its Future on AI, and Says That’s Good News for Indian Jobs

Infosys CEO Salil Parekh says the company’s AI services now make up more than 8% of its revenue and are growing quarter after quarter. In the next two to three years, almost 50% of the company’s work could be AI-related, and Parekh said this is good news for Infosys and also for India. According to Infosys, the company hired 20,000 graduate employees last year and plans to hire approximately the same number in this financial year.

For an industry that has spent the past year worrying that AI would eat its lunch, that’s a bold message. Here’s what Parekh said, and why it matters.

From a side business to half the company

Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum 2026, Parekh said Infosys’ AI services, which made up over 8% of revenue last quarter and are growing at a double-digit rate sequentially, could drive almost half of the company’s work within two to three years.

He described the business as growing at “a fantastic pace.” If that speed continues, he said, AI could reach 20 to 30% of Infosys’ work in just a few quarters.

To see how fast this has moved, look back a few months. In February, at Infosys’ Investor Day, Parekh said AI work made up 5.5% of revenue. By the July quarter it had climbed to 8.2%. Going from roughly 5% to nearly half of the business in about three years would be one of the biggest shifts the company has seen.

Parekh said this growth shows there is “a huge demand” from clients for these services.

“Good news for Infosys, good news for India”

The question hanging over Indian IT is simple: if AI can write code and run processes, what happens to companies built on large teams of engineers?

Parekh’s answer was upbeat. When asked whether India’s IT services industry would survive the AI wave, he said he believes it is good news for Infosys, and by the same logic, good news for the country’s tech services sector as a whole.

His reasoning is that big companies don’t just need AI models. They need partners who understand their business and can actually put AI to work. That includes building AI agents, writing code, and modernising old systems, which is exactly the kind of work Infosys does.

20,000 freshers, and then 20,000 more

This is the part that will matter most to students and job seekers. Infosys hired 20,000 college graduates last year and plans to hire another 20,000 this financial year, Parekh said. These new hires are trained in AI and then work with clients to roll out the technology and manage the changes that come with it.

AI is already part of daily work inside the company. Out of Infosys’ roughly 3 lakh employees, about 80,000 are already using coding tools on client projects and some internal work.

At a time when many people fear AI will cut entry-level IT jobs, a top Indian IT firm saying it will keep hiring freshers at the same pace sends a strong signal.

Not all smooth sailing

Parekh didn’t pretend the road ahead is risk-free. He pointed to the high cost of chips, doubts about how long today’s data centre capacity will stay useful, and the chance that new AI models could sharply cut the cost of running AI.

There’s also a social risk. Infosys’ management noted that public and labour concerns in Western countries, where most of its clients are, could eventually slow down how fast AI is adopted.

And it’s worth noting that the “half of our work” number is an aspiration from management, not official financial guidance.

Markets liked what they heard

Investors seem to be buying the story. Infosys shares rallied about 8% over five sessions, continuing their climb after Parekh’s comments.

The timing is also interesting. Parekh is set to step down as CEO in March 2027 after nearly nine years, and the board has picked Ashiss Kumar Dash, an Infosys veteran of more than 31 years, as his successor. Turning AI into half the business will be a big part of the job Dash inherits.

What this means for India

For years, Indian IT grew by offering skilled engineers at scale. AI was supposed to break that model. Infosys is now arguing the opposite: that AI creates a new kind of demand, and Indian companies with deep client relationships and large trained workforces are well placed to meet it.

If Parekh is right, the next wave of IT jobs in India won’t disappear. It will simply look different, with freshers learning AI from day one instead of traditional coding alone. If he’s wrong, the next couple of years will make that clear soon enough. Either way, Infosys has placed its bet.